Before the Autumn Winter 2011 ready-to-wear Christian Dior show begin at the most awaited of the fashion weeks, this Saturday afternoon, Dior CEO appeared onstage to make a lengthy speech in French about the values that —both the man and the business he founded—has represented for more than six decades. Without once mentioning Galliano by name, Toledano went on to assert that they would continue to be upheld by “the heart of the House of Dior, which beats unseen… made up of its teams and studios, of its seamstresses and craftsmen.”

Colors were rich, textures were lush, and there was a layered louche-ness that amplified the bohemian theme: One black velour coat with brocade sleeves and red fox collar and cuffs was draped over a cashmere waistcoat and a long mousseline blouse, with those knee boots. Like an artist’s muse had roused herself from his bed, thrown on a top, a gorgeous coat, some shoes—and left it at that. Galliano has always had a keen ability to provoke such fantasias in his audience.

Dior orchestrated a gracious envoi, with those seamstresses and craftsmen that Toledano eulogized in his speech gathered onstage while the crowd cheered and wept. Whatever happens next, here, at least, they were waving the last wave. The only precedent for this situation is Coco Chanel’s postwar denunciation as a Nazicollaboratrice. Her exile from the fashion world lasted nine years.